The tragic death of Harambe at the Cincinnati zoo reminds us, however, of the myriad complex relations humans have maintained with their environments and the other creatures that inhabit them. Some experts promote the educational value of well-designed zoos and the role they can play in imparting principles of conservation, particularly to children. Others question the morality of "imprisoning" animals with whom humans share substantial genetic connections and the efficacy of captive breeding programs, wondering whether such programs bear any relation to the extinction challenges primates face in the wild.

As we know, the planet faces the greatest extinction crisis since the dinosaurs vanished some 65 million years ago. The loss of some species, at a rate of one to five per annum, is a natural phenomenon. Current extinction rates are at least 1,000 times higher. The Center for Biological Diversity reports that perhaps 7 to 18 percent of U.S. flora and fauna are endangered. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has found that 38 percent of assessed species across the globe are threatened with extinction. Human actions drive this calamity through the loss of habitat, the introduction of exotic species, and climate change, among other factors.

According to the IUCN, all wild apes are endangered or critically endangered, with poaching and bushmeat trading joining habitat destruction as underlying causes. The relatively few times that the media addresses biodiversity generally involve the loss of or threats to mammals. For example, The Guardian and other sources recently reported on the disappearance of the Bramble Cay melomys, a small rodent and the Great Barrier Reef's only endemic mammal species. Queensland officials identify this as the first extinction of a mammal in the world primarily attributable to human-induced climate change. However, while less likely to be discussed, the contemporary extinction crisis involves birds, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates that are no less essential to the resilience of ecosystems.

Whether the issue is climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental justice, the celebration of the National Park Service Centennial, or recent legislation to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976, environmental historians have much to contribute to society's understanding of these matters. We have many avenues of influence in addition to our published scholarship. For those in the academy, the classroom affords the opportunity to influence new generations of thinkers. Those who work in public history positions reach multiple audiences in venues ranging from wildlife refuges to courtrooms. Environmental historians can have profound impacts on environmental and natural resource law through their work as expert witnesses. And our skills can facilitate the clean-up of contaminated sites as Lisa Meoli explains below.

With op-ed pieces or through other media channels, environmental historians can provide the necessary context as well as a sense of contingency and a sequence of causality for the complex issues facing our planet. For example, Jeff Hyson, an ASEH member and a historian at St. Joseph's University, made important contributions to a Washington Post story (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2016/06/02/what-harambes-death-means-for-a-critically-endangered-species-of-gorilla/) on the implications of Harambe's death for the critically endangered species. In fact, ASEH maintains a directory (http://aseh.net/membership/directory) of members and research specialties for those interested in greater media engagement. Click here if you are a member and would like to sign up. 

And, as always, I welcome any questions or suggestions about how we can improve ASEH. Please contact me at kbrosnan@ou.edu. 

Sanborn map (created for fire insurance purposes) showing historical operations at the former Peninsula Plywood Corporation facility and General Petroleum Corporation - including location of tanks - in Port Angeles, Washington

Lisa Meoli is an environmental historian at Floyd|Snider in Seattle, Washington with over 15 years of experience providing technical support in historical and litigation research and environmental investigation. She is currently working on her Master's Degree in Public History at Arizona State University.

member news

Frederick "Fritz" Davis has been appointed to the R. Mark Lubbers Chair in the History of Science in the Department of History at Purdue University. He will spend the academic year (2016-17) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a Fulbright Fellow.

 

Adam Rome is moving from the University of Delaware to the State University of New York at Buffalo, where his wife, Robin Schulze, now is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Final Notice - Call for Proposals for ASEH's 2017 Conference in Chicago

Join us in Chicago in 2017! Proposals for panels and roundtables are due July 8, 2016. Click here for more information, including instructions for submitting proposals.

ASEH Award Submissions Due           

ASEH presents awards for scholarship, service, and achievement. These include prizes for best book, article, dissertation, and more. The deadline for this year's award submissions is November 18, 2016. For a list of awards and instructions on how to submit, click here.

ASEH Fellowship Applications Due

The Samuel Hays Fellowship is open to practicing historians (academic, public, or independent). Graduate students are ineligible. A Ph.D. is not required. Deadline: November 18, 2016. Click here for submission instructions.

Students enrolled in any Ph.D. program worldwide are eligible to apply for the Hal Rothman Fellowship. Deadline: November 18, 2016. Click here for submission instructions.

 

Call for Papers: Not Just White, Not Just Green: Race, Justice, and Environmental History, eds Traci Brynne Voyles and Mary E. Mendoza 

 

Position Open: Assistant Professor at Swathmore College

by Rachel Jacobson, graduate student, North Carolina State University

 

With the conclusion of my internship with ASEH I am happy to report that I have learned a great deal and have made some interesting connections with several organizations. I became more involved with the ASEH and have gained a historical familiarity with the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB). The internship was an archival project processing the papers from the foundational years of the SCB, which include records of conservation biologists' involvement in public policy. As an intern I worked as a nomad, starting in the executive office of the SCB in Washington, DC, working from my school campus in Raleigh, NC, participating in a roundtable 

	Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute.

discussion in Seattle, WA and finishing the experience at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, VA.

 

The opportunity to work on sorting through the conservation biology records at the SCB's executive office was unique because much of the time archival work is done in a research repository, distanced from the donors and creators of the archival material. Another unique aspect of this opportunity for me was the chance to participate in the ASEH annual conference in Seattle. My role assisting my supervisors in creating an archival management program for the SCB provided useful  experience and allowed me to participate in a panel about environmental history archives.

 

The SCB has information on the field of conservation biology that could be essential to the research of environmental historians. Many nonprofit organizations possess valuable records that could benefit environmental historians and their interdisciplinary teams. I was thankful for this internship and the opportunity to work with with Kate Christen of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and Zoe Nyssa, the Ziff Environmental Fellow at Harvard. 

 

Invitation to Join Graduate Student Caucus

 

The ASEH grad student caucus organizes events, conference sessions, workshops, career seminars, and more. If you would like to join and participate, e-mail ASEH Graduate Student Liaison Rachel Gross at rsgross@wisc.edu.